Revit Schedules to Excel

Workflow for exporting a schedule in Revit to Microsoft Excel

Goals

The goal of this workflow is to be able to export a Revit schedule into Microsoft Excel. This tool can be utilized for simple Quantity Take-Offs (QTOs) or can be paired with labor, material and other costs associated with the schedule to produce a simple cost estimation

Process

1. Begin by creating a schedule in Revit by going to "View" ; "Schedule/Quantities." Single categories are very useful, but multiple categories can also be utilized. After selecting the particular category, different fields need to be selected to be shown in the schedule. Commonly used fields are assembly code or description, count, description, family & type, length, level, mark, and volume, but there are many other fields that can be utilized. you can also filter and sort the schedule by certain fields, and different properties can be applied to certain fields of the schedule. The schedule can be formatted to calculate total lenghts, or a total number of continuously used elements like common doors, windows, beams, columns, etc.
2. When the schedule is formatted as desired, click "OK" and the schedule will be shown. If the schedule shown is not as desired, right-click anywhere within the schedule and click "View Properties." Click any of the "Edit" buttons and you will be directed back to the formatting options for the schedule.
3. With the desired schedule open, go to "File" ; "Export" ; "Schedule..." This will export the schedule as a .txt file.
4. Save the schedule where you would like, under the name desired. Click "OK"
5. Open Microsoft Excel and open the saved schedule file. Since the file is a .txt format, you will need to choose "All Files" to make it appear. A dialog box will appear. Click "Finish" and the schedule will now open in Excel
6. Save the file as an Excel Workbook, changing it from a .txt format

Lessons Learned

• Formatting the schedule in Revit may take a little time and some changes to acquire the desired format
• When more information is included with the elements of the model, more fields may be desired when creating the schedule
• Some fields may contain no information and can be removed from the schedule, but they may also have the information added to them by editing the model elements

References

Autodesk Revit Architecture 2009
Microsoft Office Excel 2007